Troubled by Ghosts
by Kitty McGee
Summary: Naru's brother's body is found, and a year later; the gang are still together, thanks to Mai. Mai eventually has no time for herself and working for SPR is like a full time job now! Will she go crazy, or will she receive everything she's always wanted?
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here goes my first Ghost Hunt fan fiction! Woop!**

**Emm...let's see...please enjoy it and don't forget to send a review ;D**

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"Just go asleep," he whispered close to my ear and brushed my hair back from my face.

"I can't if you're here," I mumbled, how embarrassing.

"Do you want to stay in this haunted hotel? I doubt it. So we need to hurry up and solve the case."

"Then you must leave the room."

"What if you talk in your sleep? Those precious clues could help us solve this, please Mai."

"I'm telling you for the last time! I can't sleep with you in the room!" My cheeks were rosy pink at that stage.

"Why? Do you have some sort of crush on me, or something?"

I wanted to say yes, I really did. But thankfully, I refrained from it.

"O-Of course not! I just…think the moments when I sleep are…private, that's all!"

"I understand," he replied, getting up an walking towards the door, "But I'll be back to check on your progress."

"Fine!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

The room was dull. Everything looked dusty because of the faint moonlight shining in between the thick curtains. On the walls were old photos, mainly on men in soldier uniforms and children. I glanced over to a bookshelf in the corner of the room; it was too dark to read the covers of the books and I was too tired to strain my eyes that much. My eyelid began to get heavier and heavier and soon I was drowned in the dusty, dull greyness of the tiny box room.

"Wh-where am I?" I stuttered, grasping my arms and rubbing them repeatedly because of the cold.

As I began to look around, I noticed tall, shadowed trees surrounding me. A forest. The ground beneath me was covered in a layer of moss and old, giant tree roots. A considerable amount of fog swirled around my bare legs and my knees, which knocked together when a breeze passed. A shadowy figure startled me and I shivered.

"How scary…" I whispered, when the figure got close enough for me to see that it was that of a woman.

"Yuina…" the woman called, her voice sounded pained and croaky, "My Yuina-chan…Oh, where are you?"

"Emm…excuse me, Miss!" I called back, finally gaining enough courage to do so, "Who are you looking for?"

"You aren't my Yuina! Be gone!"

"I-I know that, Miss. I want to help you look for her."

"What could you possibly do to help me?"

Suddenly, she came running towards me and grabbed be shoulders. I shut my eyes tight and when I opened them, I screamed. The woman's face was right up next to mine, and her bloodshot eyes cried out for help to me as they bulged out of their sockets. Her face was clotted with dirt and her hair was in knots and hanging over her face. When I looked down, she was wearing some sort of ragged dress what was a faded grey colour, stained with grass and earth. Her feet were bare and shaking as much from the cold as mine were. The sides of her feet were scared and bleeding, once again with a layer of dirt on them.

"I-I could help you find her! I promise! That's what I'm here for…"

The woman dropped her arms from my shoulders. They were sore. She clenched her left hand in a fist; her nails were filled with earth and most of them broken. It frightened me. She looked back up at me, and her once strained, bulging eyes were now slightly softer and less intimidating.

"Wh-why don't you start by telling me a bit about what happened?"

"I was in the park with my daughter, Yuina. I loved her so much; she was my first child. Everyday I'd take her for a walk in her pram and point out the different types of trees to her. There's a maple, there's a sakura…" she explained, pointing towards lifeless trees that had lost their leaves and were slowly decaying, "That day was particularly hot. When I was alive, the trees were very small around the pathway and there was little shade, so I pushed Yuina's pram under the shade and sat in the sun myself. That was the mistake I made, I suppose. A man came from behind me and stabbed me with a short knife multiple times. After that, I never seen my little Yuina again…"

"I-I'm so sorry, Miss…"

"That's why I'm here, I guess. I had to watch these trees slowly die and rot, with no sign of human activity in sight. You're the first person I've seen in fifty years."

"Don't worry Miss! We'll find Yuina for you, and you can be happy again!"

"I sure hope so…"

"I know so! We've solved countless numbers of paranormal cases before!"

"It's just, I've looked so hard…" she cried, looking down at her scarred, dirty hands and dishevelled nails.

"What happened to you?"

"I've been so obsessed with finding Yuina, I've been digging up the entire forest!"

Then I remembered something the owner of the hotel had told us; that upon looking out the window at night, the guests saw large holes in the ground that looked like graves. The owner of the hotel would cover them up in the morning in order to calm guests down…

"Mai! Mai! Wake-up!"

"Huh? Wait! I wasn't finished!" I yelled, banging my fists on the bed covers. Naru was sitting on the end of my bed. "Why did you wake me up?!"

"You were shivering and jumping. I thought it was a good idea."

"It wasn't!"

"Did you get enough information for us?"

I looked towards the door to see John, Bou-san and Ayako peering through the ajar door.

"I got a bit."

"Tell me about it," Naru sighed, lowering the book he had between his hand and turning to face me.

"There's a lady…looking for her daughter. She looked terrible; covered in dirt and bleeding. I eventually got out from her that she was looking for a girl named 'Yuina' and that she was stabbed while out with her daughter one day. The holes that appear in the hotel's garden are holes she's been digging; she absolutely mad. She also said that the garden was a park, she said nothing about a hotel."

"Interesting. I'm guessing from what you told me that she's a ubume. Or, for Mai's sake," he exhaled before continuing and the others crept in through the door, "An ubume is a ghost that have died before they could properly look after their children."

"We've come across a case like this before, haven't we?"

"Yes."

"I don't really think so though…this woman seemed really genuine…she didn't want to hurt anyone, just find her child. Her eyes looked so determined, but they were too covered in tears for me to see at first."

"I understand, Mai. But if we don't deal with this ghost soon, she'll begin to get destructive."

"Don't say it like that!" my voice began to slowly raise and I propped myself higher onto the bed, "She's hurt! She may be a ghost, but she's still human!"

"What do you want me to say then?"

I wasn't one of them, but I could feel the others in the room get uncomfortable, even John covered his mouth with his sleeve.

"I…" tears dropped onto my hand, "I want us to help her as much as we can. She's not a bad ghost like a poltergeist; she's just lost."

"Fine," he said, his voice was sharp, "We'll help her. Whatever you want to call it. Bou-san? Please meet me in the main room downstairs to plan where we're going to have the exorcism."

"Bu-" I started.

"Stay in your room," Naru snapped and shut the door behind them, before locking it.

I wonder why he got so cold, so suddenly. I fell back onto the old, feather-filled pillows and wondered what to do. I flipped open my phone to see a new text from a friend from back home, Sakura.

Hi Mai! How's everything going? A haunted hotel is so your scene! P.S. How's Shibuya-san? =^.^=

The phone glowed in my hand, the only source of light in the room. I quickly text back then snuggle under the sheets. I'd be here a while.

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**Kitty: It's down there...**

**You: Where?**

**Kitty: Right down there!**

**You: What is?**

**Kitty: The review button!**

**You: What do you want me to do with it?**

**Kitty: Gosh...*bangs head on wall***

**Kidding, kidding ;D**

**Love you guys! xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please forgive me for the naming in these chapters XD I have a habit of naming all girls Sakura and all boys Matsuda. I suppose I can get away with it because they're already pretty popular names.**

**Disclaimers apply, I hope you enjoy! Please review : ) xoxo**

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"It's okay, Mai, we took care of her. She's…wherever she's supposed to be, now," Bou-san explained, considering the different religions of the rest in the room.

"Without her daughter? That's horrible! How could you do such a thing?!"

The conversation at the long, decorated dinner table wasn't very friendly. Of course I was angry at everyone, wouldn't anyone? As an assistant to Naru, I expected to have a say in some things, especially because I had more of a physic ability then he'll ever have. But as usual; I came, I set up things, I dreamt and I was pushed to the side so as the 'professionals' could do their work. At least I got to spend a bit of time with Naru, even if he was extremely ill-tempered.

"Your being ridiculous, Mai. Our job is not to be-friend spirits, is it?" Naru spoke up, not raising his head from his bowls of soup and rice.

"No…"

"Then leave the decisions to those who understand what they're doing."

I was silenced, as if Naru was my parent. How was I supposed to even learn without putting myself in the action?

"I'm staying here tomorrow night," I declared, scooping rice into my mouth with a pair of fancy, silver chopsticks.

"But Mai, we agreed today that we would leave tomorrow morning," Ayako protested, folding her arms.

"I understand. I want to stay here to continue my own research into the happenings."

"There's nothing left. Bou-san exorcised the ghost."

"I know. But somehow, I feel a connection to this ghost. Call me stupid, but my instinct is telling me that she was special. Although, it could also just be a girl's instinct and I'm just sympathising with her."

"Then I shall stay with you," Naru's voice came from across the table.

When I looked up, he still had his eyes glued to the food in front of him. I sighed. I liked him, but wouldn't it be awkward to have to spend more time with him in a hotel that had no other guests?

"I refuse," I replied, clearing my throat.

"You can't refuse. Do you really expect to stay in this hotel all alone, previously haunted by a ghost? Not to mention that it's in quite an isolated area?"

"What? Are you worried about me? You shouldn't."

He looked up for the first time and frowned. Frowns didn't suit him. Sure, he didn't smile often either, but a neutral face was better then a frown. I sort of pitted him, even though I was not supposed to.

"Fine, fine. You guys can stay."

"Are you kidding? I have work to do in my shrine, I promised to be back tomorrow!" Ayako moaned, flicking back her wine hair.

"I have promises too," Masako whispered from behind her kimono sleeve, "I have an interview for a Paranormal Research magazine."

"I have a concert," Bou-san replied simply, laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"The local parish is having me do some community work for the weekend, I can't let them down," John sighed.

"What about you, Lin-san?" I asked, glancing towards the end of the table where he sat and ate quietly the whole time.

"I have plans with my parents to visit them in Xi'an," he mumbled.

"How will we get home, then?" I complained, waiting for a reply.

"Lin-san, you could collect us on Monday, couldn't you?" Naru begged.

"Sure, Monday. I'll be there."

The next day came quickly. Although I couldn't sleep the night before because I was too stressed. Ayako, Bou-san, John and Masako all rustled into Lin-san's car and Bou-san was the only one to say goodbye to me.

"Take care of yourselves here…"

"Of course! As always."

"Okay, Mai. I'll talk to you when you get back sometime, goodbye!"

His goodbye was short, but at least he cared for me enough to say it. I watched him hop into the car and it drive off. The owner had come out to see his guests off, too.

"Why are you not going off with the others?" Matsuda-san, the owner, asked.

"I want to remain here and study some more, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it is. I just don't like to see such young children here on their own…it's such a big place, you know?"

"That's alright, Matsuda-san! We've survived fine so far!"

He smiled and went inside the giant red door, the entrance. I turned on my heels and headed for the trees.

"H-Hey! Mai! Where are you going?" Naru protested as he chased me.

"To examine the crime scene," I joked, "That's what I stayed here for."

"But we need to tell Lin-san first! We can't just go outside unprotected!"

"Oh really? I thought you said the ghost was gone."

"Well, you know Bou-san and the others, they're a little un-trustworthy at times…"

"Well you can go tell Lin-san. I'm staying here."

He shrugged his shoulders and followed me. I knew that he hesitated before he came running after me. I came across a giant hole and almost fell down it.

"This one mustn't have been covered up," Naru commented as he kicked some soil into it.

"No. There's a few more further down," I replied, folding my arms.

"How do you know?"

"I seen it in my dream…"

"It's strange."

"Eh?"

"I mean, a lot of spirits have ways of communicating with the human world; they can speak, they can appear before us and they can even move things, or knock them over. But this is unheard of."

"Digging holes?"

"Yes. I've never seen it before. I've never read of anything like it either."

"She was desperate though…I was with her, maybe even in her little world, the spirit world. There were no people, she was all alone…"

"But why would she dig holes? It's just plain old weird…"

"I suppose…maybe it's a grave…for her daughter."

"…That's clever thinking, Mai!" he exclaimed, I felt a little happy and my cheeks flushed, "Does that not mean that her daughter is dead? How would she know?"

"Like I said yesterday, I may have some sort of physic ability, but so do all women. Mothers have them over their children. Girls have them over bad things. Old women, well they're just geniuses when it comes to guessing things!"

"Really? I never noticed. I suppose it explains why the girls always live longest in horror movies."

"Exactly that. Naru?"

"Yes?"

"I want to track down Yuina. I want to find her daughter."

~ Hour time skip : ) ~

"Mai, you should get some sleep," Naru said, peeking into my bedroom. He had obviously seen the glow of my laptop from the hallway.

"I will, I think I'm on to something here, though…"

"Oh?"

"Look," I told him, patting the seat beside me on the sofa in my room, "A park once was here about fifty years ago. Trees were torn down and this hotel replaced it."

"But that means you still can't find out who Yuina is…or was."

"Ahh, but I have come up with a notion. The lady told me that she brought her little Yuina to the park everyday, these were important memories to her of her first and only child. She told me that the garden out the back was once a lovely park. And finally, the park was replaced by a hotel-"

"What could all of that possibly mean?"

"It's not a grave for her daughter…it's a grave for her memories that she hadn't finished, for the glorious trees that once stood here and for the life she once had."

"I didn't know you were so poetic Mai-"

Suddenly a loud bang came from the window. It startled me and I dropped the laptop.

"What was that?" I shrieked, picking the laptop up and setting it on my bedside table.

"I don't know…" Naru replied.

"You go check it out…"

"Eh?"

"You're the man! Go!"

I nudged him and he reluctantly went over to the window. After taking a deep breath, he pulled back the thick curtains and the moonlight streamed in through the window pane.

"See? Nothings there. It might have been a cat."

"O-Oh…Okay."

He came and sat beside me again while our hearts re-started. A light stronger then the moon flooded the room and I shielded my eyes. When it faded slightly, I looked out; the woman was staring in at us with red eyes. Naru fell too the floor on his knees.

"Th-that's impossible!"

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**Cliffy...LOL!**

**So, how was it? Love it? Hate it? Are you a naturally indecisive person?**

**Let me know ;D**

**xoxo**


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